


Eye of the Hurricane

by TheSilverField



Series: All Things Ereri! [10]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Modern AU, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 06:50:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14889696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverField/pseuds/TheSilverField
Summary: All Levi needs is love.





	Eye of the Hurricane

“I can’t do this.”

The words were a pin prick, a fine edge and a shallow cut. They were choked; breathless and waking something much deeper, buried beneath the surface of flesh, bleeding truth. Terror. Warm hands felt cold.

_Too cold, too cold, too cold._

Like a corpse, stiff and heavy, blood no longer thrumming through raised blue veins. But there was still blood there, still a pulse. Still a heartbeat that was moving too fast.

_Too fast, too fast, too fast._

Through the soles of his shoes, Levi thought he could feel the earth trembling. Through the cage of bone in his chest, he felt the same tremors rattling his lungs. His vision was fuzzy, but he could still see the world spinning. Mouth desert dry, body numb from the waist down, throat closing, closing,  _closing_.

_Can’t breathe._

Levi closed his eyes, counted to ten in his head. Then twenty. Then fifty. There was no relief. Not when his throat felt like it was swelling shut. Now when his body was trembling so violently that he was losing all sense of  _here_ and  _present_ and  _feeling_.

“Levi!”

His eyes snapped open and for a split second he thought he found relief. But this was only half over. This was only the eye of a hurricane, the chilling serenity before all hell broke loose. Again.

Where am I?

“Levi, baby. I’m here. I’m here now.”

Levi blinked once, twice. He was home, laying on the couch in mid-panic attack, staring up at the man who had captured his heart. The man who loved him despite his bouts of random anxiety; despite his manic episodes of cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. Despite his dry, shitty humor. Despite his stoic exterior and emotional breakdowns when his feelings were just too much to keep hidden away.

Eren, tender and soft and gentle and caring, with his unconditional love. With his bright eyes and toothy grin. With his long brown hair that Levi always teased him about cutting. With his favorite pink sweater and twelve-year-old tennis shoes riddled with holes. With his messes and late for works and good night kisses. With his strong hands and limitless resolve. With his heart on his sleeve.

He was back to make it all better.

“Eren… I can’t do this…” Levi choked out past a gasp of breath, though it felt like all the oxygen had extinguished from the air.

Eren shook his head, his messy bun bouncing at the movement. “You can do this, baby. You’re so strong and so brave. You can do this.” He was always quick to reassure, always so kind and beautiful and comforting. His hands always knew where to go. Whether it was to help Levi regain feeling or wreck him in bed or pull him back down to earth, Eren’s hands were all-knowing.

He was massaging Levi’s legs, his touch stirring his nerves and making him shiver, helping his body to wake up again. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. Just try to take deep, slow breaths.” His voice was as soft as satin, calling Levi back to the land of the living. “Remember all those other times you said you couldn’t do it? You did. Because you kept fighting and pushing yourself to get better. You  _can_ do it again. I know you can.”

Levi, slow to trust and drowning in an ocean of disbelief, found himself nodding. Because after all these years of being with Eren, of building a bond rooted in honesty, had proved time and time again Eren  _could_  be trusted. How could Levi not believe him when he spoke with such determination? It was impossible.

Levi could believe he could get through this because Eren told him he could. Levi could feel that the world had stopped shaking and spinning, could feel his lungs expanding with air against his still ribs, could feel the swelling in his throat begin to wane. Each breath grew steadier, stronger; each pulse of his galloping heart decreasing to a normal pace.

Yeah, he could believe in Eren.

“How are you feeling, baby? Better?” Eren asked worriedly, his bright teal eyes awashed with concern. He gently helped Levi to sit up, his strong hands moving to Levi’s shoulders to rub at them soothingly.

Levi smiled weakly, leaning forward to rest his head against Eren’s chest, listening to the pounding thump of his boyfriend’s precious heart. “Thank you, my darling. I always feel better when you’re here.”


End file.
